2016

Manufactured TearsAlex JufferLenny studied Sasha’s face. Rarely was he afforded this close of a view. Her artificial lips were smooth and full, the lower lip sagging from its plumpness. It occurred to Lenny that he should have bought a model of a old lady, a midget, someone he wasn’t attracted to. Someone who wouldn’t distract him. Hell, even a guy would be better, someone he could hang out with... Read More...

Before it is WrittenGrant FarleyHe flipped the light switch and stepped inside. The hanging bulb didn’t do much to lighten the stacks of books and boxes teetering to the ceiling. A sad desk that looked like something stolen out of the downtown library sat on a frayed Persian rug in the middle of the concrete floor. A black Underwood was squared exactly on the desk with a pile of blank paper next to it. A wastebasket overflowed with crumpled pages. I orbited the desk as he sat down. He scrolled in a piece of paper, his fingers poised, his eyes closed like Liberace contemplating “The Firebird Suite.” Or maybe just chop sticks... Read More...

InducementLisa ShapterMy partner gave me a brief look, either angry I had sat down close to him or irritated I had not moved close enough. I moved and spoke in his ear. “She seems to like the guy and his team, she had good reasons to leave her old team, can’t we log this,” I moved my cup a centimeter, “as a non-trade gift or sample, file the right paperwork to support her relocation, check in with her old team, and go on to the next case?” Bras made a quiet noise, disagreeing. He shifted, accidentally brushing my face, and his breath was warm in my ear... Read More...

There Are No Carriages or Footmen in the SuburbsSheila JohnsonBecause Keith could not stop for Death, Death moved into the townhouse next door while Keith watched it happen. Throughout Moving Day, Keith returned to his window and saw all the comforts of home carried into the nearby two-story duplex. There was a king-sized mattress, because lying down must have been important to Death, and there was a large-screen television, because who else would need to pay so much attention to current events? And there, at the end of the day, standing on the porch, was Death himself. He waved, giving Keith a chill in the form of a breeze that stirred the grass along the well-maintained lawn... Read More...

ZertanztenCarl Grafe“The barracks houses twelve androids, and I had just gotten it filled two months ago when I started finding all the android spacesuits completely drained of power in the mornings.” He turned to Helmut. “You see my problem — no spacesuits, no work. We waste half the day charging them back up every morning. All the other power works fine, and I’ve got the doors locked during night cycles, but it still happens every night. Frankly I’m running out of options.” ... Read More...

Satin SheetsKen PoynerShe was good work. The best he had ever seen. He, himself, had done some fine work, but nothing like this. You would say she was pure Manila. The Manila plant had done the best work about, but in the sterilization scandal the Manila plant had been nuked by United Bio International. Nearly twelve million people lost, as well as perhaps twenty million sub-hominid creations, and the contents of more than one hundred patents. Six years later, some of the processes Manila was using have not yet been recreated. You would think someone would have stolen the patents... Read More...

Bodies Whole and in PiecesMadeline AnthesThe first body I learned was not my own but my mother’s. Standing below her in the shower, water cascading off her body and onto me, I looked up and saw her in full. I saw her long rounded breasts and stomach that bore lines from her days of carrying me. I saw her craning neck and the way she arched her head back into the water. I closed my eyes against the spray as she shook her hair. When I opened them she was still there, reaching for me, her fingers working the shampoo into my red curls. She was everywhere at once, warm and soft...Read More...